RE: I oppose commercials on CBC Radio

Thank you for your letter concerning the Government's recent comments about the possibility of allowing the CBC/Radio-Canada to air advertising.

As you know, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore, appeared before members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on February 9th and implied that he was open to the idea of allowing the CBC/Radio-Canada to broadcast advertising as a means of generating additional revenues.

The Liberal Party believes that advertising is not an appropriate solution to the problem of funding the national broadcaster, and that the role and mandate of the CBC/Radio-Canada must be preserved.

Minister Moore’s comments show he is improvising policy and still fails to grasp the broadcasting issue; otherwise, he would have realized that Canadians who listen to public radio do not want advertising. CBC/Radio-Canada executives have said they do not intend to broadcast advertising and plan to raise additional funds by other means.

The Liberal Party has the utmost respect for the national broadcaster and will do its part to ensure that advertising is not aired on public radio. Furthermore, we will work to obtain a firm commitment from the Conservative government to ensure that CBC/Radio-Canada receives adequate government funding.

Once again, thank you for informing me of your opinion on this important issue.